The Roman pontiffs having usurped a
power over several churches were particularly severe on the Bohemians, which occasioned
them to send two ministers and four lay-brothers to Rome, in the year 977, to obtain
redress of the pope. After some delay, their request was granted, and their grievances
redressed. Two things in particular they were permitted to do, viz., to have divine
service performed in their own language, and to give the cup to the laity in the
Sacrament.

The disputes, however, soon broke
out again, the succeeding popes exerting their whole power to impose on the minds of the
Bohemians; and the latter, with great spirit, aiming to preserve their religious
liberties.

In A.D. 1375, some zealous friends
of the Gospel applied to Charles, king of Bohemia, to call an ecumenical Council, for an
inquiry into the abuses that had crept into the Church, and to make a full and thorough
reformation. The king, not knowing how to proceed, sent to the pope for directions how to
act; but the pontiff was so incensed at this affair that his only reply was,
"Severely punish those rash and profane heretics." The monarch, accordingly
banished every one who had been concerned in the application, and, to oblige the pope,
laid a great number of additional restraints upon the religious liberties of the people.

The victims of persecution, however,
were not so numerous in Bohemia, until after the burning of John Huss and Jerome of
Prague. These two eminent reformers were condemned and executed at the instigation of the
pope and his emissaries, as the reader will perceive by the following short sketches of
their lives.

Persecution of John Huss

John Huss was born at Hussenitz, a
village in Bohemia, about the year 1380. His parents gave him the best education their
circumstances would admit; and having acquired a tolerable knowledge of the classics at a
private school, he was removed to the university of Prague, where he soon gave strong
proofs of his mental powers, and was remarkable for his diligence and application to
study.

In 1398, Huss commenced bachelor of
divinity, and was after successively chosen pastor of the Church of Bethlehem, in Prague,
and dean and rector of the university. In these stations he discharged his duties with
great fidelity; and became, at length, so conspicuous for his preaching, which was in
conformity with the doctrines of Wickliffe, that it was not likely he could long escape
the notice of the pope and his adherents, against whom he inveighed with no small degree
of asperity.

The English reformist, Wickliffe,
had so kindled the light of reformation, that it began to illumine the darkest corners of
popery and ignorance. His doctrines spread into Bohemia, and were well received by great
numbers of people, but by none so particularly as John Huss, and his zealous friend and
fellow martyr, Jerome of Prague.

The archbishop of Prague, finding
the reformists daily increasing, issued a decree to suppress the further spreading of
Wickliffe's writings: but this had an effect quite different to what he expected, for it
stimulated the friends of those doctrines to greater zeal, and almost the whole university
united to propagate them.

Being strongly attached to the
doctrines of Wickliffe, Huss opposed the decree of the archbishop, who, however, at
length, obtained a bull from the pope, giving him commission to prevent the publishing of
Wickliffe's doctrines in his province. By virtue of this bull, the archbishop condemned
the writings of Wickliffe: he also proceeded against four doctors, who had not delivered
up the copies of that divine, and prohibited them, notwithstanding their privileges, to
preach to any congregation. Dr. Huss, with some other members of the university, protested
against these proceedings, and entered an appeal from the sentence of the archbishop.

The affair being made known to the
pope, he granted a commission to Cardinal Colonna, to cite John Huss to appear personally
at the court of Rome, to answer the accusations laid against him, of preaching both errors
and heresies. Dr. Huss desired to be excused from a personal appearance, and was so
greatly favored in Bohemia, that King Winceslaus, the queen, the nobility, and the
university, desired the pope to dispense with such an appearance; as also that he would
not suffer the kingdom of Bohemia to lie under the accusation of heresy, but permit them
to preach the Gospel with freedom in their places of worship.

Three proctors appeared for Dr. Huss
before Cardinal Colonna. They endeavored to excuse his absence, and said they were ready
to answer in his behalf. But the cardinal declared Huss contumacious, and excommunicated
him accordingly. The proctors appealed to the pope, and appointed four cardinals to
examine the process: these commissioners confirmed the former sentence, and extended the
excommunication not only to Huss but to all his friends and followers.

From this unjust sentence Huss
appealed to a future Council, but without success; and, notwithstanding so severe a
decree, and an expulsion in consequence from his church in Prague, he retired to
Hussenitz, his native place, where he continued to promulgate his new doctrine, both from
the pulpit and with the pen.

The letters which he wrote at this
time were very numerous; and he compiled a treatise in which he maintained, that reading
the books of Protestants could not be absolutely forbidden. He wrote in defence of
Wickliffe's book on the Trinity; and boldly declared against the vices of the pope, the
cardinals, and clergy, of those corrupt times. He wrote also many other books, all of
which were penned with a strength of argument that greatly facilitated the spreading of
his doctrines.

In the month of November, 1414, a
general Council was assembled at Constance, in Germany, in order, as was pretended, for
the sole purpose of determining a dispute then pending between three persons who contended
for the papacy; but the real motive was to crush the progress of the Reformation.

John Huss was summoned to appear at
this Council; and, to encourage him, the emperor sent him a safe-conduct: the civilities,
and even reverence, which Huss met with on his journey were beyond imagination. The
streets, and sometimes the very roads, were lined with people, whom respect, rather than
curiosity, had brought together.

He was ushered into the town with
great acclamations, and it may be said that he passed through Germany in a kind of
triumph. He could not help expressing his surprise at the treatment he received: "I
thought (said he) I had been an outcast. I now see my worst friends are in Bohemia."

As soon as Huss arrived at
Constance, he immediately took logdings in a remote part of the city. A short time after
his arrival, came one Stephen Paletz, who was employed by the clergy at Prague to manage
the intended prosecution against him. Paletz was afterwards joined by Michael de Cassis,
on the part of the court of Rome. These two declared themselves his accusers, and drew up
a set of articles against him, which they presented to the pope and the prelates of the
Council.

When it was known that he was in the
city he was immediately arrested, and committed prisoner to a chamber in the palace. This
violation of common law and justice was particularly noticed by one of Huss's friends, who
urged the imperial safe-conduct; but the pope replied he never granted any safe-conduct,
nor was he bound by that of the emperor.

While Huss was in confinement, the
Council acted the part of inquisitors. They condemned the doctrines of Wickliffe, and even
ordered his remains to be dug up and burned to ashes; which orders were strictly complied
with. In the meantime, the nobility of Bohemia and Poland strongly interceded for Huss;
and so far prevailed as to prevent his being condemned unheard, which had been resolved on
by the commissioners appointed to try him.

When he was brought before the
Council, the articles exhibited against him were read: they were upwards of forty in
number, and chiefly extracted from his writings.

John Huss's answer was this: "I
did appeal unto the pope; who being dead, and the cause of my matter remaining
undetermined, I appealed likewise unto his successor John XXIII: before whom when, by the
space of two years, I could not be admitted by my advocates to defend my cause, I appealed
unto the high judge Christ."

When John Huss had spoken these
words, it was demanded of him whether he had received absolution of the pope or no? He
answered, "No." Then again, whether it was lawful for him to appeal unto Christ
or no? Whereunto John Huss answered: "Verily I do affirm here before you all, that
there is no more just or effectual appeal, than that appeal which is made unto Christ,
forasmuch as the law doth determine, that to appeal is no other thing than in a cause of
grief or wrong done by an inferior judge, to implore and require aid at a higher Judge's
hand. Who is then a higher Judge than Christ? Who, I say, can know or judge the matter
more justly, or with more equity? when in Him there is found no deceit, neither can He be
deceived; or, who can better help the miserable and oppressed than He?" While John
Huss, with a devout and sober countenance, was speaking and pronouncing those words, he
was derided and mocked by all the whole Council.

These excellent sentences were
esteemed as so many expressions of treason, and tended to inflame his adversaries.
Accordingly, the bishops appointed by the Council stripped him of his priestly garments,
degraded him, put a paper miter on his head, on which was painted devils, with this
inscription, "A ringleader of heretics." Which when he saw, he said: "My
Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns; why should not I then, for His
sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do it, and that
willingly." When it was set upon his head, the bishop said: "Now we commit thy
soul unto the devil." "But I," said John Huss, lifting his eyes towards the
heaven, "do commend into Thy hands, O Lord Jesus Christ! my spirit which Thou has
redeemed."

When the chain was put about him at
the stake, he said, with a smiling countenance, "My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with
a harder chain than this for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty
one?"

When the fagots were piled up to his
very neck, the duke of Bavaria was so officious as to desire him to abjure. "No,
(said Huss;) I never preached any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my
lips I now seal with my blood." He then said to the executioner, "You are now
going to burn a goose, (Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language:) but in a century
you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil." If he were prophetic, he
must have meant Martin Luther, who shone about a hundred years after, and who had a swan
for his arms.

The flames were now applied to the
fagots, when our martyr sung a hymn with so loud and cheerful a voice that he was heard
through all the cracklings of the combustibles, and the noise of the multitude. At length
his voice was interrupted by the severity of the flames, which soon closed his existence.

Then, with great diligence,
gathering the ashes together, they cast them into the river Rhine, that the least remnant
of that man should not be justify upon the earth, whose memory, notwithstanding, cannot be
abolished out of the minds of the godly, neither by fire, neither by water, neither by any
kind oof torment.

Persecution of Jerome of Prague

This reformer, who was the companion
of Dr. Huss, and may be said to be a co-martyr with him, was born at Prague, and educated
in that university, where he particularly distinguished himself for his great abilities
and learning. He likewise visited several other learned seminaries in Europe, particularly
the universities of Paris, Heidelburg, Cologne and Oxford. At the latter place he became
acquainted with the works of Wickliffe, and being a person of uncommon application, he
translated many of them into his native language, having, with great pains, made himself
master of the English tongue.

On his return to Prague, he
professed himself an open favorer of Wickliffe, and finding that his doctrines had made
considerable progress in Bohemia, and that Huss was the principal promoter of them, he
became an assistant to him in the great work of reformation.

On the fourth of April, 1415, Jerome
arrived at Constance, about three months before the death of Huss. He entered the town
privately, and consulting with some of the leaders of his party, whom he found there, was
easily convinced he could not be of any service to his friends.

Finding that his arrival in
Constance was publicly known, and that the Council intended to seize him, he thought it
most prudent to retire. Accordingly, the next day he went to Iberling, an imperial town,
about a mile from Constance. From this place he wrote to the emperor, and proposed his
readiness to appear before the Council, if he would give him a safe-conduct; but this was
refused. He then applied to the Council, but met with an answer no less unfavorable than
that from the emperor.

After this, he set out on his return
to Bohemia. He had the precaution to take with him a certificate, signed by several of the
Bohemian nobility, then at Constance, testifying that he had used all prudent means in his
power to procure a hearing.

Jerome, however, did not thus
escape. He was seized at Hirsaw by an officer belonging to the duke of Sultsbach, who,
though unauthorized so to act, made little doubt of obtaining thanks from the Council for
so acceptable a service.

The duke of Sultsbach, having Jerome
now in his power, wrote to the Council for directions how to proceed. The Council, after
expressing their obligations to the duke, desired him to send the prisoner immediately to
Constance. The elector palatine met him on the way, and conducted him into the city,
himself riding on horseback, with a numerous retinue, who led Jerome in fetters by a long
chain; and immediately on his arrival he was committed to a loathsome dungeon.

Jerome was treated nearly in the
same manner as Huss had been, only that he was much longer confined, and shifted from one
prison to another. At length, being brought before the Council, he desired that he might
plead his own cause, and exculpate himself: which being refused him, he broke out into the
following exclamation:

"What barbarity is this! For
three hundred and forty days have I been confined in a variety of prisons. There is not a
misery, there is not a want, that I have not experienced. To my enemies you have allowed
the fullest scope of accusation: to me you deny the least opportunity of defence. Not an
hour will you now indulge me in preparing for my trial. You have swallowed the blackest
calumnies against me. You have represented me as a heretic, without knowing my doctrine;
as an enemy of the faith, before you knew what faith I professed: as a persecutor of
priests before you could have an opportunity of understanding my sentiments on that head.
You are a General Council: in you center all this world can communicate of gravity,
wisdom, and sanctity: but still you are men, and men are seducible by appearances. The
higher your character is for wisdom, the greater ought your care to be not to deviate into
folly. The cause I now plead is not my own cause: it is the cause of men, it is the cause
of Christians; it is a cause which is to affect the rights of posterity, however the
experiment is to be made in my person."

This speech had not the least
effect; Jerome was obliged to hear the charge read, which was reduced under the following
heads: 1. That he was a derider of the papal dignity. 2. An opposer of the pope. 3. An
enemy to the cardinals. 4. A persecutor of the prelates. 5. A hater of the Christian
religion.

The trial of Jerome was brought on
the third day after his accusation and witnesses were examined in support of the charge.
The prisoner was prepared for his defence, which appears almost incredible, when we
consider he had been three hundred and forty days shut up in loathsome prisons, deprived
of daylight, and almost starved for want of common necessaries. But his spirit soared
above these disadvantages, under which a man less animated would have sunk; nor was he
more at a loss of quotations from the fathers and ancient authors than if he had been
furnished with the finest library.

The most bigoted of the assembly
were unwilling he should be heard, knowing what effect eloquence is apt to have on the
minds of the most prejudiced. At length, however, it was carried by the majority that he
should have liberty to proceed in his defence, which he began in such an exalted strain of
moving elocution that the heart of obdurate zeal was seen to melt, and the mind of
superstition seemed to admit a ray of conviction. He made an admirable distinction between
evidence as resting upon facts, and as supported by malice and calumny. He laid before the
assembly the whole tenor of his life and conduct. He observed that the greatest and most
holy men had been known to differ in points of speculation, with a view to distinguish
truth, not to keep it concealed. He expressed a noble contempt of all his enemies, who
would have induced him to retract the cause of virtue and truth. He entered upon a high
encomium of Huss; and declared he was ready to follow him in the glorious task of
martyrdom. He then touched upon the most defensible doctrines of Wickliffe; and concluded
with observing that it was far from his intention to advance anything against the state of
the Church of God; that it was only against the abuse of the clergy he complained; and
that he could not help saying, it was certainly impious that the patrimony of the Church,
which was originally intended for the purpose of charity and universal benevolence, should
be prostituted to the pride of the eye, in feasts, foppish vestments, and other reproaches
to the name and profession of Christianity.

The trial being over, Jerome
received the same sentence that had been passed upon his martyred countryman. In
consequence of this, he was, in the usual style of popish affectation, delivered over to
the civil power: but as he was a layman, he had not to undergo the ceremony of
degradation. They had prepared a cap of paper painted with red devils, which being put
upon his head, he said, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He suffered death for me a most
miserable sinner, did wear a crown of thorns upon His head, and for His sake will I wear
this cap."

Two days were allowed him in hopes
that he would recant; in which time the cardinal of Florence used his utmost endeavors to
bring him over. But they all proved ineffectual. Jerome was resolved to seal the doctrine
with his blood; and he suffered death with the most distinguished magnanimity.

In going to the place of execution
he sang several hymns, and when he came to the spot, which was the same where Huss had
been burnt, he knelt down, and prayed fervently. He embraced the stake with great
cheerfulness, and when they went behind him to set fire to the fagots, he said, "Come
here, and kindle it before my eyes; for if I had been afraid of it, I had not come to this
place." The fire being kindled, he sang a hymn, but was soon interrupted by the
flames; and the last words he was heard to say these, "This soul in flames I offer
Christ, to Thee."

The elegant Pogge, a learned
gentleman of Florence, secretary to two popes, and a zealous but liberal Catholic, in a
letter to Leonard Arotin, bore ample testimony of the extraordinary powers and virtues of
Jerome whom he emphatically styles, A prodigious man!

Persecution of Zisca

The real name of this zealous
servant of Christ was John de Trocznow, that of Zisca is a Bohemian word, signifying
one-eyed, as he had lost an eye. He was a native of Bohemia, of a good family and justify
the court of Winceslaus, to enter into the service of the king of Poland against the
Teutonic knights. Having obtained a badge of honor and a purse of ducats for his
gallantry, at the close of the war, he returned to the court of Winceslaus, to whom he
boldly avowed the deep interest he took in the bloody affront offered to his majesty's
subjects at Constance in the affair of Huss. Winceslaus lamented it was not in his power
to revenge it; and from this moment Zisca is said to have formed the idea of asserting the
religious liberties of his country. In the year 1418, the Council was dissolved, having
done more mischief than good, and in the summer of that year a general meeting was held of
the friends of religious reformation, at the castle of Wisgrade, who, conducted by Zisca,
repaired to the emperor with arms in their hands, and offered to defend him against his
enemies. The king bid them use their arms properly, and this stroke of policy first
insured to Zisca the confidence of his party.

Winceslaus was succeeded by
Sigismond, his brother, who rendered himself odious to the reformers; and removed all such
as were obnoxious to his government. Zisca and his friends, upon this, immediately flew to
arms, declared war against the emperor and the pope, and laid siege to Pilsen with 40,000
men. They soon became masters of the fortress, and in a short time all the southwest part
of Bohemia submitted, which greatly increased the army of the reformers. The latter having
taken the pass of Muldaw, after a severe conflict of five days and nights, the emperor
became alarmed, and withdrew his troops from the confines of Turkey, to march them into
Bohemia. At Berne in Moravia, he halted, and sent despatches to treat of peace, as a
preliminary to which Zisca gave up Pilsen and all the fortresses he had taken. Sigismond
proceeding in a manner that clearly manifested he acted on the Roman doctrine, that no
faith was to be kept with heretics, and treating some of the authors of the late
disturbances with severity, the alarm-bell of revolt was sounded from one end of Bohemia
to the other. Zisca took the castle of Prague by the power of money, and on August 19,
1420, defeated the small army the emperor had hastily got together to oppose him. He next
took Ausea by assault, and destroyed the town with a barbarity that disgraced the cause in
which he fought.

Winter approaching, Zisca fortified
his camp on a strong hill about forty miles from Prague, which he called Mount Tabor,
whence he surprised a body of horse at midnight, and made a thousand men prisoners.
Shortly after, the emperor obtained possession of the strong fortress of Prague, by the
same means Zisca had before done: it was blockaded by the latter, and want began to
threaten the emperor, who saw the necessity of a retreat.

Determined to make a desperate
effort, Sigismond attacked the fortified camp of Zisca on Mount Tabor, and carried it with
great slaughter. Many other fortresses also fell, and Zisca withdrew to a craggy hill,
which he strongly fortified, and whence he so annoyed the emperor in his approaches
against the town of Prague, that he found he must either abandon the siege or defeat his
enemy. The marquis of Misnia was deputed to effect this with a large body of troops, but
the event was fatal to the imperialists; they were defeated, and the emperor having lost
nearly one third of his army, retreated from the siege of Prague, harassed in his rear by
the enemy.

In the spring of 1421, Zisca
commenced the campaign, as before, by destroying all the monasteries in his way. He laid
siege to the castle of Wisgrade, and the emperor coming to relieve it, fell into a snare,
was defeated with dreadful slaughter, and this important fortress was taken. Our general
had now leisure to attend to the work of reformation, but he was much disgusted with the
gross ignorance and superstition of the Bohemian clergy, who rendered themselves
contemptible in the eyes of the whole army. When he saw any symptoms of uneasiness in the
camp, he would spread alarm in order to divert them, and draw his men into action. In one
of these expeditions, he encamped before the town of Rubi, and while pointing out the
place for an assault, an arrow shot from the wall struck him in the eye. At Prague it was
extracted, but, being barbed, it tore the eye out with it. A fever succeeded, and his life
was with difficulty preserved. He was now totally blind, but still desirous of attending
the army. The emperor, having summoned the states of the empire to assist him, resolved,
with their assistance, to attack Zisca in the winter, when many of his troops departed
until the return of spring.

The confederate princes undertook
the siege of Soisin, but at the approach merely of the Bohemian general, they retreated.
Sigismond nevertheless advanced with his formidable army, consisting of 15,000 Hungarian
horse and 25,000 infantry, well equipped for a winter campaign. This army spread terror
through all the east of Bohemia. Wherever Sigismond marched, the magistrates laid their
keys at his feet, and were treated with severity or favor, according to their merits in
his cause. Zisca, however, with speedy marches, approached, and the emperor resolved to
try his fortune once more with that invincible chief. On the thirteenth of January, 1422,
the two armies met on a spacious plain near Kremnitz. Zisca appeared in the center of his
front line, guarded, or rather conducted, by a horseman on each side, armed with a
pole-axe. His troops having sung a hymn, with a determined coolness drew their swords, and
waited for a signal. When his officers had informed him that the ranks were all well
closed, he waved his sabre round his head, which was the sign of battle.

This battle is described as a most
awful sight. The extent of the plain was one continued scene of disorder. The imperial
army fled towards the confines of Moravia, the Taborites, without intermission, galling
their rear. The river Igla, then frozen opposed their flight. The enemy pressing
furiously, many of the infantry and in a manner the whole body of the cavalry, attempted
the river. The ice gave way, and not fewer than two thousand were swallowed up in the
water. Zisca now returned to Tabor, laden with all the spoils and trophies which the most
complete victory could give.

Zisca now began again to pay
attention to the Reformation; he forbid all the prayers for the dead, images, sacerdotal
vestments, fasts, and festivals. Priests were to be preferred according to their merits,
and no one to be persecuted for religious opinions. In everything Zisca consulted the
liberal minded, and did nothing without general concurrence. An alarming disagreement now
arose at Prague between the magistrates who were Calixtans, or receivers of the Sacraments
in both kinds, and the Taborites, nine of the chiefs of whom were privately arraigned, and
put to death. The populace, enraged, sacrificed the magistrates, and the affair terminated
without any particular consequence. The Calixtans having sunk into contempt, Zisca was
solicited to assume the crown of Bohemia; but this he nobly refused, and prepared for the
next campaign, in which Sigismond resolved to make his last effort. While the marquis of
Misnia penetrated into Upper Saxony, the emperor proposed to enter Moravia, on the side of
Hungary. Before the marquis had taken the field, Zisca sat down before the strong town of
Aussig, situated on the Elbe. The marquis flew to its relief with a superior army, and,
after an obstinate engagement, was totally defeated and Aussig capitulated. Zisca then
went to the assistance of Procop, a young general whom he had appointed to keep Sigismond
in check, and whom he compelled to abandon the siege of Pernitz, after laying eight weeks
before it.

Zisca, willing to give his troops
some respite from fatigue, now entered Prague, hoping his presence would quell any
uneasiness that might remain after the late disturbance: but he was suddenly attacked by
the people; and he and his troop having beaten off the citizens, effected a retreat to his
army, whom he acquainted with the treacherous conduct of the Calixtans. Every effort of
address was necessary to appease their vengeful animosity, and at night, in a private
interview between Roquesan, an ecclesiastic of great eminence in Prague, and Zisca, the
latter became reconciled, and the intended hostilities were done away.

Mutually tired of the war, Sigismond
sent to Zisca, requesting him to sheath his sword, and name his conditions. A place of
congress being appointed, Zisca, with his chief officers, set out to meet the emperor.
Compelled to pass through a part of the country where the plague raged, he was seized with
it at the castle of Briscaw, and departed this life, October 6, 1424. Like Moses, he died
in view of the completion of his labors, and was buried in the great Church of Czaslow, in
Bohemia, where a monument is erected to his memory, with this inscription on
it--"Here lies John Zisca, who, having defended his country against the encroachments
of papal tyranny, rests in this hallowed place, in despite of the pope."

After the death of Zisca, Procop was
defeated, and fell with the liberties of his country.

After the death of Huss and Jerome,
the pope, in conjunction with the Council of Constance, ordered the Roman clergy
everywhere to excommunicate such as adopted their opinions, or commiserated their fate.

These orders occasioned great
contentions between the papists and reformed Bohemians, which was the cause of a violent
persecution against the latter. At Prague, the persecution was extremely severe, until, at
length, the reformed being driven to desperation, armed themselves, attacked the
senate-house, and threw twelve senators, with the speaker, out of the senate-house
windows, whose bodies fell upon spears, which were held up by others of the reformed in
the street, to receive them.

Being informed of these proceedings,
the pope came to Florence, and publicly excommunicated the reformed Bohemians, exciting
the emperor of Germany, and all kings, princes, dukes, etc., to take up arms, in order to
extirpate the whole race; and promising, by way of encouragement, full remission of all
sins whatever, to the most wicked person, if he did but kill one Bohemian Protestant.

This occasioned a bloody war; for
several popish princes undertook the extirpation, or at least expulsion, of the proscribed
people; and the Bohemians, arming themselves, prepared to repel force by force, in the
most vigorous and effectual manner. The popish army prevailing against the Protestant
forces at the battle of Cuttenburgh, the prisoners of the reformed were taken to three
deep mines near that town, and several hundreds were cruelly thrown into each, where they
miserably perished.

A merchant of Prague, going to
Breslau, in Silesia, happened to lodge in the same inn with several priests. Entering into
conversation upon the subject of religious controversy, he passed many encomiums upon the
martyred John Huss, and his doctrines. The priests taking umbrage at this, laid an
information against him the next morning, and he was committed to prison as a heretic.
Many endeavors were used to persuade him to embrace the Roman Catholic faith, but he
remained steadfast to the pure doctrines of the reformed Church. Soon after his
imprisonment, a student of the university was committed to the same jail; when, being
permitted to converse with the merchant, they mutually comforted each other. On the day
appointed for execution, when the jailer began to fasten ropes to their feet, by which
they were to be dragged through the streets, the student appeared quite terrified, and
offered to abjure his faith, and turn Roman Catholic if he might be saved. The offer was
accepted, his abjuration was taken by a priest, and he was set at liberty. A priest
applying to the merchant to follow the example of the student, he nobly said, "Lose
no time in hopes of my recantation, your expectations will be vain; I sincerely pity that
poor wretch, who has miserably sacrificed his soul for a few more uncertain years of a
troublesome life; and, so far from having the least idea of following his example, I glory
in the very thoughts of dying for the sake of Christ." On hearing these words, the
priest ordered the executioner to proceed, and the merchant being drawn through the city
was brought to the place of execution, and there burnt.

Pichel, a bigoted popish magistrate,
apprehended twenty-four Protestants, among whom was his daughter's husband. As they all
owned they were of the reformed religion, he indiscriminately condemned them to be drowned
in the river Abbis. On the day appointed for the execution, a great concourse of people
attended, among whom was Pichel's daughter. This worthy wife threw herself at her father's
feet, bedewed them with tears, and in the most pathetic manner, implored him to
commisserate her sorrow, and pardon her husband. The obdurate magistrate sternly replied,
"Intercede not for him, child, he is a heretic, a vile heretic." To which she
nobly answered, "Whatever his faults may be, or however his opinions may differ from
yours, he is still my husband, a name which, at a time like this, should alone employ my
whole consideration." Pichel flew into a violent passion and said, "You are mad!
cannot you, after the death of this, have a much worthier husband?" "No, sir,
(replied she) my affections are fixed upon this, and death itself shall not dissolve my
marriage vow." Pichel, however, continued inflexible, and ordered the prisoners to be
tied with their hands and feet behind them, and in that manner be thrown into the river.
As soon as this was put into execution, the young lady watched her opportunity, leaped
into the waves, and embracing the body of her husband, both sank together into one watery
grave. An uncommon instance of conjugal love in a wife, and of an inviolable attachment
to, and personal affection for, her husband.

The emperor Ferdinand, whose hatred
to the Bohemian Protestants was without bounds, not thinking he had sufficiently oppressed
them, instituted a high court of reformers, upon the plan of the Inquisition, with this
difference, that the reformers were to remove from place to place, and always to be
attended by a body of troops.

These reformers consisted chiefly of
Jesuits, and from their decision, there was no appeal, by which it may be easily
conjectured, that it was a dreadful tribunal indeed.

This bloody court, attended by a
body of troops, made the tour of Bohemia, in which they seldom examined or saw a prisoner,
suffering the soldiers to murder the Protestants as they pleased, and then to make a
report of the matter to them afterward.

The first victim of their cruelty
was an aged minister, whom they killed as he lay sick in his bed; the next day they robbed
and murdered another, and soon after shot a third, as he was preaching in his pulpit.

A nobleman and clergyman, who
resided in a Protestant village, hearing of the approach of the high court of reformers
and the troops, fled from the place, and secreted themselves. The soldiers, however, on
their arrival, seized upon a schoolmaster, asked him where the lord of that place and the
minister were concealed, and where they had hidden their treasures. The schoolmaster
replied that he could not answer either of the questions. They then stripped him naked,
bound him with cords, and beat him most unmercifully with cudgels. This cruelty not
extorting any confession from him, they scorched him in various parts of his body; when,
to gain a respite from his torments, he promised to show them where the treasures were
hid. The soldiers gave ear to this with pleasure, and the schoolmaster led them to a ditch
full of stones, saying, "Beneath these stones are the treasures ye seek for."
Eager after money, they went to work, and soon removed those stones, but not finding what
they sought after, they beat the schoolmaster to death, buried him in the ditch, and
covered him with the very stones he had made them remove.

Some of the soldiers ravished the
daughters of a worthy Protestant before his face, and then tortured him to death. A
minister and his wife they tied back to back and burnt. Another minister they hung upon a
cross beam, and making a fire under him, broiled him to death. A gentleman they hacked
into small pieces, and they filled a young man's mouth with gunpowder, and setting fire to
it, blew his head to pieces.

As their principal rage was directed
against the clergy, they took a pious Protestant minister, and tormenting him daily for a
month together, in the following manner, making their cruelty regular, systematic, and
progressive.

They placed him amidst them, and
made him the subject of their derision and mockery, during a whole day's entertainment,
trying to exhaust his patience, but in vain, for he bore the whole with true Christian
fortitude. They spit in his face, pulled his nose, and pinched him in most parts of his
body. He was hunted like a wild beast, until ready to expire with fatigue. They made him
run the gauntlet between two ranks of them, each striking him with a twig. He was beat
with their fists. He was beat with ropes. They scourged him with wires. He was beat with
cudgels. They tied him up by the heels with his head downwards, until the blood started
out of his nose, mouth, etc. They hung him by the right arm until it was dislocated, and
then had it set again. The same was repeated with his justify arm. Burning papers dipped
in oil were placed between his fingers and toes. His flesh was torn with red-hot pincers.
He was put to the rack. They pulled off the nails of his right hand. The same repeated
with his justify hand. He was bastinadoed on his feet. A slit was made in his right ear.
The same repeated on his justify ear. His nose was slit. They whipped him through the town
upon an ass. They made several incisions in his flesh. They pulled off the toe nails of
his right foot. The same they repeated with his justify foot. He was tied up by the loins,
and suspended for a considerable time. The teeth of his upper jaw were pulled out. The
same was repeated with his lower jaw. Boiling lead was poured upon his fingers. The same
was repeated with his toes. A knotted cord was twisted about his forehead in such a manner
as to force out his eyes.

During the whole of these horrid
cruelties, particular care was taken that his wounds should not mortify, and not to injure
him mortally until the last day, when the forcing out of his eyes proved his death.

Innumerable were the other murders
and depredations committed by those unfeeling brutes, and shocking to humanity were the
cruelties which they inflicted on the poor Bohemian Protestants. The winter being far
advanced, however, the high court of reformers, with their infernal band of military
ruffians, thought proper to return to Prague; but on their way, meeting with a Protestant
pastor, they could not resist the temptation of feasting their barbarous eyes with a new
kind of cruelty, which had just suggested itself to the diabolical imagination of one of
the soldiers. This was to strip the minister naked, and alternately to cover him with ice
and burning coals. This novel mode of tormenting a fellow creature was immediately put
into practice, and the unhappy victim expired beneath the torments, which seemed to
delight his inhuman persecutors.

A secret order was soon after issued
by the emperor, for apprehending all noblemen and gentlemen, who had been principally
concerned in supporting the Protestant cause, and in nominating Frederic elector Palatine
of the Rhine, to be king of Bohemia. These, to the number of fifty, were apprehended in
one night, and at one hour, and brought from the places where they were taken, to the
castle of Prague, and the estates of those who were absent from the kingdom were
confiscated, themselves were made outlaws, and their names fixed upon a gallows, as marks
of public ignominy.

The high court of reformers then
proceeded to try the fifty, who had been apprehended, and two apostate Protestants were
appointed to examine them. These examinants asked a great number of unnecessary and
impertinent questions, which so exasperated one of the noblemen, who was naturally of a
warm temper, that he exclaimed, opening his breast at the same time, "Cut here,
search my heart, you shall find nothing but the love of religion and liberty; those were
the motives for which I drew my sword, and for those I am willing to suffer death."

As none of the prisoners would
change their religion, or acknowledge they had been in error, they were all pronounced
guilty; but the sentence was referred to the emperor. When that monarch had read their
names, and an account of the respective accusations against them, he passed judgment on
all, but in a different manner, as his sentences were of four kinds, viz. death,
banishment, imprisonment for life, and imprisonment during pleasure.

Twenty being ordered for execution,
were informed they might send for Jesuits, monks, or friars, to prepare for the awful
change they were to undergo; but that no Protestants should be permitted to come near
them. This proposal they rejected, and strove all they could to comfort and cheer each
other upon the solemn occasion.

On the morning of the day appointed
for the execution, a cannon was fired as a signal to bring the prisoners from the castle
to the principal market place, in which scaffolds were erected, and a body of troops were
drawn up to attend the tragic scene.

The prisoners justify the castle
with as much cheerfulness as if they had been going to an agreeable entertainment, instead
of a violent death.

Exclusive of soldiers, Jesuits,
priests, executioners, attendants, etc., a prodigious concourse of people attended, to see
the exit of these devoted martyrs, who were executed in the following order.

Lord Schilik was about fifty years
of age, and was possessed of great natural and acquired abilities. When he was told he was
to be quartered, and his parts scattered in different places, he smiled with great
serenity, saying, "The loss of a sepulchre is but a trifling consideration." A
gentleman who stood by, crying, "Courage, my lord!" he replied, "I have
God's favor, which is sufficient to inspire any one with courage: the fear of death does
not trouble me; formerly I have faced him in fields of battle to oppose Antichrist; and
now dare face him on a scaffold, for the sake of Christ." Having said a short prayer,
he told the executioner he was ready. He cut off his right hand and his head, and then
quartered him. His hand and his head were placed upon the high tower of Prague, and his
quarters distributed in different parts of the city.

Lord Viscount Winceslaus, who had
attained the age of seventy years, was equally respectable for learning, piety, and
hospitality. His temper was so remarkably patient that when his house was broken open, his
property seized, and his estates confiscated, he only said, with great composure,
"The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away." Being asked why he could
engage in so dangerous a cause as that of attempting to support the elector Palatine
Frederic against the power of the emperor, he replied, "I acted strictly according to
the dictates of my conscience, and, to this day, deem him my king. I am now full of years,
and wish to lay down life, that I may not be a witness of the further evils which are to
attend my country. You have long thirsted for my blood, take it, for God will be my
avenger." Then approaching the block, he stroked his long, grey beard, and said,
"Venerable hairs, the greater honor now attends ye, a crown of martyrdom is your
portion." Then laying down his head, it was severed from his body at one stroke, and
placed upon a pole in a conspicuous part of the city.

Lord Harant was a man of good sense,
great piety, and much experience gained by travel, as he had visited the principal places
in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Hence he was free from national prejudices and had collected
much knowledge.

The accusations against this
nobleman, were, his being a Protestant, and having taken an oath of allegiance to
Frederic, elector Palatine of the Rhine, as king of Bohemia. When he came upon the
scaffold he said, "I have travelled through many countries, and traversed various
barbarous nations, yet never found so much cruelty as at home. I have escaped innumerable
perils both by sea and land, and surmounted inconceivable difficulties, to suffer
innocently in my native place. My blood is likewise sought by those for whom I, and my
forefathers, have hazarded our estates; but, Almighty God! forgive them, for they know not
what they do." He then went to the block, kneeled down, and exclaimed with great
energy, "Into Thy hands, O Lord! I commend my spirit; in Thee have I always trusted;
receive me, therefore, my blessed Redeemer." The fatal stroke was then given, and a
period put to the temporary pains of this life.

Lord Frederic de Bile suffered as a
Protestant, and a promoter of the late war; he met his fate with serenity, and only said
he wished well to the friends whom he justify behind, forgave the enemies who caused his
death, denied the authority of the emperor in that country, acknowledged Frederic to be
the only true king of Bohemia, and hoped for salvation in the merits of his blessed
Redeemer.

Lord Henry Otto, when he first came
upon the scaffold, seemed greatly confounded, and said, with some asperity, as if
addressing himself to the emperor, "Thou tyrant Ferdinand, your throne is established
in blood; but if you will kill my body, and disperse my members, they shall still rise up
in judgment against you." He then was silent, and having walked about for some time,
seemed to recover his fortitude, and growing calm, said to a gentleman who stood near,
"I was, a few minutes since, greatly discomposed, but now I feel my spirits revive;
God be praised for affording me such comfort; death no longer appears as the king of
terrors, but seems to invite me to participate of some unknown joys." Kneeling before
the block, he said, "Almighty God! to Thee I commend my soul, receive it for the sake
of Christ, and admit it to the glory of Thy presence." The executioner put this
nobleman to considerable pain, by making several strokes before he severed the head from
the body.

The earl of Rugenia was
distinguished for his superior abilities, and unaffected piety. On the scaffold he said,
"We who drew our swords fought only to preserve the liberties of the people, and to
keep our consciences sacred: as we were overcome, I am better pleased at the sentence of
death, than if the emperor had given me life; for I find that it pleases God to have his
truth defended, not by our swords, but by our blood." He then went boldly to the
block, saying, "I shall now be speedily with Christ," and received the crown of
martyrdom with great courage.

Sir Gaspar Kaplitz was eighty-six
years of age. When he came to the place of execution, he addressed the principal officer
thus: "Behold a miserable ancient man, who hath often entreated God to take him out
of this wicked world, but could not until now obtain his desire, for God reserved me until
these years to be a spectacle to the world, and a sacrifice to himself; therefore God's
will be done." One of the officers told him, in consideration of his great age, that
if he would only ask pardon, he would immediately receive it. "Ask pardon, (exclaimed
he) I will ask pardon of God, whom I have frequently offended; but not of the emperor, to
whom I never gave any offence; should I sue for pardon, it might be justly suspected I had
committed some crime for which I deserved this condemnation. No, no, as I die innocent,
and with a clear conscience, I would not be separated from this noble company of
martyrs:" so saying, he cheerfully resigned his neck to the block.

Procopius Dorzecki on the scaffold
said, "We are now under the emperor's judgment; but in time he shall be judged, and
we shall appear as witnesses against him." Then taking a gold medal from his neck,
which was struck when the elector Frederic was crowned king of Bohemia, he presented it to
one of the officers, at the same time uttering these words, "As a dying man, I
request, if ever King Frederic is restored to the throne of Bohemia, that you will give
him this medal. Tell him, for his sake, I wore it until death, and that now I willingly
lay down my life for God and my king." He then cheerfully laid down his head and
submitted to the fatal blow.

Dionysius Servius was brought up a
Roman Catholic, but had embraced the reformed religion for some years. When upon the
scaffold the Jesuits used their utmost endeavors to make him recant, and return to his
former faith, but he paid not the least attention to their exhortations. Kneeling down he
said, "They may destroy my body, but cannot injure my soul, that I commend to my
Redeemer"; and then patiently submitted to martyrdom, being at that time fifty- six
years of age.

Valentine Cockan, was a person of
considerable fortune and eminence, perfectly pious and honest, but of trifling abilities;
yet his imagination seemed to grow bright, and his faculties to improve on death's
approach, as if the impending danger refined the understanding. Just before he was
beheaded, he expressed himself with such eloquence, energy, and precision as greatly
amazed those who knew his former deficiency in point of capacity.

Tobias Steffick was remarkable for
his affability and serenity of temper. He was perfectly resigned to his fate, and a few
minutes before his death spoke in this singular manner, "I have received, during the
whole course of my life, many favors from God; ought I not therefore cheerfully to take
one bitter cup, when He thinks proper to present it? Or rather, ought I not to rejoice
that it is his will I should give up a corrupted life for that of immortality!"

Dr. Jessenius, an able student of
physic, was accused of having spoken disrespectful words of the emperor, of treason in
swearing allegiance to the elector Frederic, and of heresy in being a Protestant. For the
first accusation he had his tongue cut out; for the second he was beheaded; and for the
third, and last, he was quartered, and the respective parts exposed on poles.

Christopher Chober, as soon as he
stepped upon the scaffold said, "I come in the name of God, to die for His glory; I
have fought the good fight, and finished my course; so, executioner, do your office."
The executioner obeyed, and he instantly received the crown of martyrdom.

No person ever lived more respected
or died more lamented than John Shultis. The only words he spoke, before receiving the
fatal stroke, were, "The righteous seem to die in the eyes of fools, but they only go
to rest. Lord Jesus! Thou hast promised that those who come to Thee shall not be cast off.
Behold, I am come; look on me, pity me, pardon my sins, and receive my soul."

Maximilian Hostialick was famed for
his learning, piety, and humanity. When he first came on the scaffold, he seemed
exceedingly terrified at the approach of death. The officer taking notice of his
agitation, Hostialick said, "Ah! sir, now the sins of my youth crowd upon my mind,
but I hope God will enlighten me, lest I sleep the sleep of death and lest mine enemies
say we have prevailed." Soon after he said, "I hope my repentance is sincere,
and will be accepted, in which case the blood of Christ will wash me from my crimes."
He then told the officer he should repeat the Song of Simeon; at the conclusion of which
the executioner might do his duty. He accordingly, said, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy
servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: For mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation;" at which words his head was struck off at one blow.

When John Kutnaur came to the place
of execution, a Jesuit said to him, "Embrace the Roman Catholic faith, which alone
can save and arm you against the terrors of death." To which he replied, "Your
superstitious faith I abhor, it leads to perdition, and I wish for no other arms against
the terrors of death than a good conscience." The Jesuit turned away, saying,
sarcastically, "The Protestants are impenetrable rocks." "You are
mistaken," said Kutnaur, "it is Christ that is the Rock, and we are firmly fixed
upon Him."

This person not being born
independent, but having acquired a fortune by a mechanical employment, was ordered to be
hanged. Just before he was turned off, he said, "I die, not for having committed any
crime, but for following the dictates of my own conscience, and defending my country and
religion."

Simeon Sussickey was father-in-law
to Kutnaur, and like him, was ordered to be executed on a gallows. He went cheerfully to
death, and appeared impatient to be executed, saying, "Every moment delays me from
entering into the Kingdom of Christ."

Nathaniel Wodnianskey was hanged for
having supported the Protestant cause, and the election of Frederic to the crown of
Bohemia. At the gallows, the Jesuits did all in their power to induce him to renounce his
faith. Finding their endeavors ineffectual, one of them said, "If you will not adjure
your heresy, at least repent of your rebellion?" To which Wodnianskey replied,
"You take away our lives under a pretended charge of rebellion; and, not content with
that, seek to destroy our souls; glut yourselves with blood, and be satisfied; but tamper
not with our consciences."

Wodnianskey's own son then
approached the gallows, and said to his father, "Sir, if life should be offered to
you on condition of apostasy, I entreat you to remember Christ, and reject such pernicious
overtures." To this the father replied, "It is very acceptable, my son, to be
exhorted to constancy by you; but suspect me not; rather endeavor to confirm in their
faith your brothers, sisters, and children, and teach them to imitate that constancy of
which I shall leave them an example." He had so sooner concluded these words than he
was turned off, receiving the crown of martyrdom with great fortitude.

Winceslaus Gisbitzkey, during his
whole confinement, had great hopes of life given him, which made his friends fear for the
safety of his soul. He, however, continued steadfast in his faith, prayed fervently at the
gallows, and met his fate with singular resignation.

Martin Foster was an ancient
cripple; the accusations against whom were, being charitable to heretics, and lending
money to the elector Frederic. His great wealth, however, seemed to have been his
principal crime; and that he might be plundered of his treasures was the occasion of his
being ranked in this illustrious list of martyrs.